Sobering Report On Local Economy

Aggressive, Regional Approach Called Key To Revival

Sobering Report On Regional Economy

Reviving central Connecticut's economy will mean overcoming a poorly educated workforce, a fractured system of government and reliance on outdated industries, a sobering regional "report card" says.

Keeping up with the rest of the country will take an aggressive and coordinated regional effort to pull out of the current downward spiral, said the comprehensive study, produced by a Capitol Region Council of Governments task force.

FOR THE RECORD - Sonya Googins is vice chairwoman of the town council in lastonbury. A story on Page A1 of the Courant on hursday incorrectly stated her title.

The project looked at more than 100 indicators, comparing the Hartford "primary metropolitan area" to 329 others in the country.

The council, which promotes regional cooperation, funded the report with help from the state and from municipalities. It intends to use the results as an action plan, said Chairwoman Sonya Googins, mayor of Glastonbury.

Googins and Widner said the results confirm what is becoming a common plea: Any economic revival must center on the hub city of Hartford, which will supply a significant portion of the future workforce.

To prosper, Widner and his task force recommended focusing on the area's strengths -- high incomes, good schools and housing, a central location and, surprisingly, labor costs that are below those of many major Sun Belt metropolitan areas.

The report recommended moving quickly to expand Bradley International Airport's commercial freight business; pursuing advanced technology firms; and working harder to attract foreign companies looking to be close to New York and Boston.

Still, Connecticut is an expensive place to do business, and the report said the area should emphasize the things that accompany this -- like top schools, a good housing stock and a concentration of doctors and engineers.

"We have to tailor our strategies for a high-cost region," Widner explained at a noon meeting of the council's policy board in Hartford. "Don't attract low-cost industries. Silicon Valley is not in a poor region. Go after the industries ... that are attracted to a high-cost, good-education region."

What the Hartford area has are leaders in the medical, aerospace and insurance fields, an airport that could become a regional hub and a central Northeast location that could serve a woefully underdeveloped commercial distribution industry.

For example, Widner said, Connecticut ranks first in the number of exports per worker, and this should be further exploited. The area also ranks 10th in accessibility -- "an asset which has not been capitalized upon."

But there are also some serious problems in the region that must be immediately addressed, the study said. They include:

A decline in the education level of the workforce. For example, since 1980, the number of adults in the region with four or more years of college has slipped from 21 to 16.4 percent while the percentage of adults over 25 with a high school education has dropped behind both state and national averages.

The worst rich-poor disparity in the country between a city and its suburbs.

Over-reliance on "mature" industries and a poor climate for fostering "industries of tomorrow."

High overall costs of living, such as housing, energy and employee benefits.

A lack of a coordinated regional effort to diversify the economy.

The top priority, Widner said, is the growing number of minority group members who are not receiving adequate education in the city.

Training and educating residents for careers suitable to the economy is essential, but this is made more difficult by the lack of regional schools, the report said. The report called for partnerships linking schools, businesses, universities and local government.

"The major thing that comes out of this is how profoundly the nature of the labor force is going to change in the next 10 years," Widner said, referring to rapidly growing, young minority populations and the slow-growing, older white population.

Googins said the council is prepared to work with local and state government and organizations like the Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce to push the agenda set forth in the report card.

"Information is power," she said. "What we've presented today is a powerful document that will provide us with some impetus to help the capitol region. My personal task is to have this not rest on the shelf."

Along with officials from other surrounding towns, Hartford Mayor Carrie Saxon Perry said she wasn't surprised at what she heard.

"I'm just glad the other folks heard it," she said. "It's critical that they hear how important we are as the core."